<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Gehenna by i_vi_ix</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784040">Gehenna</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_vi_ix/pseuds/i_vi_ix'>i_vi_ix</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Little Nightmares (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Beta Read!, Bittersweet Ending, Brainwashing, Comfort, Emotional Abuse, Gen, Hi i roleplay and this is based in my canon for six lol, Horror, Hurt, Kidnapping, Manipulation, Revenge, Thriller, and she is determined to get back at six, spooky stuff happens, the lady is mean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:33:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,643</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_vi_ix/pseuds/i_vi_ix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>From start to finish, Six’s escape from the Maw was something she had complete control over. But when a deadly distraction leads to her capture, Six learns the hard way that not only does karma come when you least expect it, but history has a nasty way of repeating itself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Six and the Lady (Maternal)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Gehenna</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work is going to be beta-read by Doceo_Percepto, who inspired the theory and headcanons I have for Six and the Lady! THANKS FOR THE HELP MARX YOU ARE A GEM. /Chefs kiss!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The elevator lifted the girl higher and higher. Away from the gluttonous guests, and the heaping piles of meat they gorged themselves on. Something about this place as a whole stirred hazy memories from deep within Six’s subconscious. Fuzzy and veiled in silver, they wiggled and pulsed faintly. In the back of her mind, like glassy bubbles glimmering in a murky lake. Just out of reach, but present within her. </p>
<p>Six knew it couldn’t be possible that she had been here before, but the subtle familiarity, the eerie <em> déjà vu, </em> further unnerved her. Although it did simultaneously drive her forward in her quest. Once she took care of the root of the problem, once she faced the shadowy, elusive demon who ran this place… She would be free. </p>
<p>The doors slid open with a soft <em> ‘click’ </em> and she stepped out. Carefully, because a distant, lilting voice coming from another room betrayed the presence of another — the root of the Maw’s evil — not that far ahead. Six settled her movement to a calm walking pace, making sure that her bare feet padded lightly on carpet rather than slapping clumsily on wood. If <em> she </em> was as close by as the child suspected, then undoubtedly she would be alerted to the slightest sound. She had both ears <em> and </em> eyes all over this place, the other children often whispered. And while nobody quite knew or understood the full extent of her watch, those who DID manage to escape the prison never returned below to tell.</p>
<p>Unlike the rest of the Maw, this place was… Clean. Regulated neatly, with polished wood and tidy floors. She found herself looking over her shoulder often while she explored, almost afraid that a butler or a maid would come bustling in at any moment. Having extra awareness of the muck and dirt she was inevitably tracking into a place of such pristine condition, and discovering her in their quest to expel the filth from their mistress’ quarters. Not even on the bookshelf in the next room could Six spy a speck of dust. The books stood straight. Placed in such a way to suggest that they were almost never touched, and in fact only there for appearances. </p>
<p>They, like everything else in the Lady’s life, were all part of an elaborate disguise.</p>
<p>The purple carpet only went as far as the first landing. When Six ascended and stood upon it, she winced when she noted the second set of steps had no carpeting. Easier chance of creaking wood or making noise, which bothered her. The humming voice was getting louder, too, and Six knew it was because she was getting closer. Unease twisted her gut; the girl jerked her hooded head to the door on the landing, an alternate passage she would much rather enter than go upstairs, but to her consternation the door had a solid padlock on it. </p>
<p>Six reached out to lay a hand on the padlock, very gently. Once she touched it though, something bizarre happened. </p>
<p>Her body seized. Held stiffly in place, a silver-lined film reel of something she didn’t know flashes slowly and silently through her mind. To be exact, the girl saw a white vase - an eye etched in the side - on a nightstand in a bedroom. The sight of the vase dissolved into a similarly-filmy apparition of an ovular mirror, small and untouched, laying on a pillow in what looked to be a walk-in closet. It is with a slow gulp as the visions fade that Six realizes just what it was trying to tell her. </p>
<p>She had figured before that a simple escape wouldn’t be THAT easy, but that didn’t make having to face the source head-on any easier of a pill to swallow.</p>
<p>With a slow intake of breath to steady her nerves, Six moved forward once more. Up the next set of stairs, and passing an eerie selection of portraits on the walls. She did not look at them as she went by, but she did soften her pace when the room with the humming voice drew nearer.</p>
<p>Six swallowed hard. Teeth gritted, she paused and very slowly craned her neck so as to peek over the side of the doorway. Just to see what she’d be dealing with. But while she could not readily see the voice thanks to the door itself, she did see that the room was wider and bigger than she’d anticipated. </p>
<p>It was only the fire in her belly that still propelled Six forward to finish what she’d started. On one wall stood a large wardrobe, some boxes, and quite a few stacks of what looked to be identical linens. On the other, a few clusters of dress mannequins. Some were clothed, others bare, but no matter what way they appeared, Six was unsurprised that she could practically <em> feel </em> them watching her as she moved through the room.</p>
<p>There, now. She saw the one behind it all as she drew nearer. Standing tall and regal at the vanity table. <em> Her. </em> The Lady. The governess of the Maw, and Hostess to the guests that came and Went. This woman, indirectly responsible for everything Six and the rest of the prison children had been going through since arrival. Only the gods knew the full extent of what she had done, and those she had stepped on, to get where she was now. But Six was well aware of just enough to hate her.</p>
<p>Like everything else around here, appearances were deceiving. The Lady just remained there in front of a cracked mirror stoically, humming the same three notes of some tune and pulling a brush through long, ebony locks. Were it not for the fact that she had dreamt of her in the past, or the stories she had heard, Six never would have pegged her for anything other than a reclusive business-woman. And it was her wariness of these impressions of the Lady that kept the young girl doing everything within her power to remain absolutely silent as she snuck past her. </p>
<p>It was no easy task, though. As it had many a time before on her journey to escape, Six’s apprehension increased. The sound of her heartbeat grew louder and louder still in her own ears. So much to her that for the briefest of moments, the child wondered if <em> she </em> could hear it, too. But whether the Lady truly detected her or not, she remained in her place at the table, unbothered. Humming and brushing through her hair like nothing was amiss. Six exhaled soundlessly, and tip-toed her way to the third section of her quarters. Wherein laid her opulent four-poster bed, a chest of drawers, a nightstand, numerous portraits, and what looked to be a chair underneath a sheet in the corner.</p>
<p>Six tilted her head, inquisitive of the unfinished feeling this room had despite the fact that it had furniture in it. The bed and the chest were at the ready, sure, but the rest of it looked half-done. There were pictures on the floor hidden under covers, just barely poking out unlike the ones on the walls. To the side of a portrait of a small child, was the vase in question.</p>
<p>The nerves in her stomach twisted in discomfort when she noticed that the key would not fit through the hole at the top, leaving little other options but to break it.</p>
<p>She could still hear the woman singing in the next room; wouldn’t she investigate the source if something of hers made a noise? There didn’t seem to be any alternative options, though, and her time to act was running low. Six assessed the room, searching for a hiding place she could dash to, and elected to scurry under the bed. It was a short-term sanctuary at best if the Lady decided to check underneath, but it would have to suffice for the moment. </p>
<p>Standing on top of the nightstand, Six reached out with trembling hands. <em> Am I really doing this…?</em></p>
<p>One good shove over the edge was all it took. The vase split into pieces with a very distinct shattering noise. The key lay at the bottom, glinting gold in the dim lighting of the bedroom. In the other room, the serene, harmonious humming came to a grinding halt.</p>
<p>Six shot under the bed, as if from a cannon. But even after what felt like hours of waiting, waiting to be found or waiting for the Lady to move somewhere else, there were no further noises in the room she had found herself in. Not even the ticking clock she had heard coming in here…. </p>
<p>Very slowly and taking extra care not to make any further sounds, Six crept out from under the bed. There were no signs of the Lady, sound-wise nor sight-wise when she peeked into the next room over to check. And the girl could only swallow at what this had to mean.</p>
<p>For whatever reason, the Lady had left her place at her vanity. She was now elsewhere, although only the gods would know where that was by now. She hadn’t even audibly given any indication of her leaving, and that in itself made Six more nervous than anything else. </p>
<p>Gingerly, she took up the key and exited the bedroom, leaving the mess of what she had done behind her. Six’s concern was escape, not cleaning up stuff that didn’t belong to her. And even then, the Lady could deal with it later. It may have been insensitive, but she saw no issue in leaving her shadowy foe a small reminder of her presence! A little hint that someone had been there, someone who had snuck in and out without detection.</p>
<p>A pleased smile curved Six’s face upwards. It didn’t leave her visage even as she carried the key downstairs to the lock, nor did it leave when she pushed open the door to what had to be the way to the mirror she had seen in the vision. It was some kind of closet! Or storage? It was hard to tell, because the lights were off, but that didn’t stop Six from marching on in search of the mirror.</p>
<p>A few steps in, though, the door she’d just gone through slammed shut behind her with a frightening bang.</p>
<p>Six jumped, startled, and slapped a hand over her mouth when a little gasp left her. Okay— maybe going in here hadn’t been the smartest idea? But there weren’t any other doorways that she’d remembered, at least none that had given her visions like the lock on this one had. That had to count for something! Unless… Was this why the Lady had vanished? Had she intended this whole thing as a lure to capture wayward wanderers? Six’s brain was starting to hurt from trying to make sense of all she had seen— but with this new development, as well as the fact that the door had locked behind her when she tried it again, the only way to move was forward. </p>
<p>Six flicked open her lighter, illuminating the dark space and confirming what she had feared to be true after stepping inside. <em> The room was getting colder.</em></p>
<p>Her steps were light, barely audible, but Six <em> still </em>felt a sense of dread as she went deeper. For one, this closet-storage thing was positively filled with the same kind of mannequins the Lady had in her quarters. The resemblance was uncanny, and Six knew that if she wanted to, the dark sorceress could easily hide here and pounce on her if she wasn’t vigilant. Maybe she was already here, considering that the child found herself shivering from more than the biting chill of the dropped temperature. If anything, what made this cold all the more unbearable was the fear of unseen eyes on her back.</p>
<p><em> “Hey, this way!” </em> A small voice whispered, a few feet to her right. Raising her head gave Six a view of a dark figure scurrying about in the darkness, just up ahead! Another child?</p>
<p>“W…. Wait—“ Six rasped, quickening her pace to catch up with them. </p>
<p>She tailed the small figure about fifteen feet, before another wisped by playfully at her left, giggling softly. Dark hands stroked the fabric of her coat, so lightly that they were almost ghostlike. But when Six looked up to view the person pawing at her, all she saw was a porcelain white mask, stark against the darkness.</p>
<p>Six yelped, pulling back. Her lighter, her Spark, the source of her bravery, snapped closed. It skittered off into the shadows. But while she pathetically felt around for the smooth metal, ebony hands laced themselves in hers. Pulled her up, and twirled her around in place. </p>
<p><em> “Play with us, Six,” </em> the first shadow sing-songed, before three more stepped out from behind some of the mannequins. <em> “You must be scared— why don’t you relax and spend time with us? We haven’t seen anyone here for ages!”</em></p>
<p><em> “We won’t hurt you,” </em> another said, moving to rest a hand on her shoulder. </p>
<p>“My lighter—“ Six turned. Her wrist was grabbed gently, and herself tugged back to the center of the dark space. </p>
<p><em> “We’ll find it for you, we know where everything is in here!” </em> One of the shadow children told her with pride. They patted her hand, and Six noted the surprising amount of tenderness she was being shown by her enemy’s lackeys. She imagined these shades had been put here to act as roadblocks in the way of anyone who looked to get their hands on that mirror, and yet they wanted to play with her? Were there still children’s hearts or souls underneath their masks?</p>
<p>Before she could come to a definitive conclusion as to whether this was helpful or harmful, they began to jump around. Frolicking with a remarkable jubilation contrary to their states, the shadow children leapt and bounded through the closet, and they made quick work of dragging Six through along with them. </p>
<p>…. Fine. It was fun. They may be shadows, but they were the shadows of <em> kids. </em> And they hadn’t attempted to harm her once when she’d set foot in here. It was for this reason that Six found her more childish side taking over. She raced through the dark with a smirk, allowing the ease and content of their playtime to overtake everything she had been afraid of. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of her mistake.</p>
<p>Six didn’t see the looming figure gliding closer, slowly but surely. She didn’t see anything wrong with their current game, the one that had her spinning in place, faster and faster. The shadow children spun alongside her. In fact they surrounded her in a perfect circle. Six didn’t see the issue with any of this, nor did she see the inky black tendrils of shadow that crawled closer and closer to her every moment she didn’t look for them—</p>
<p>Six didn’t see any of it until she had been forcibly grabbed and pulled up into the air, up straight into the masked face of the Lady, who’s eyeless gaze burned through her in fury. The small girl yelped, squirming in the tight grip like a trapped animal. </p>
<p><em> “Bedtime, dear,” </em> the Lady said soothingly, reaching a lanky hand up to stroke along Six’s cheek. Her hand felt like ice. <em> “It’s time you go to sleep.”</em></p>
<p>Six thrashed harder. She fought and struggled with all her might, while the shadows constricted. Another pair of tendrils began to wind around her thin ankles and wrapped themselves up her legs. They were binding her together in a firm-but-gentle cocoon of restraint, and Six hated all of it. </p>
<p><em> “Shhhh…” </em> the Lady crooned softly, rubbing at her cheek. </p>
<p>The last thing Six saw before the darkness pulled her under was the frigid indifference of the Lady’s mask. But then, even that faded to black.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There you have it! Six is going to be facing her most deadly trial yet! Stay tuned, friends, it’s going to be a wild ride👀 I can’t promise that Six will come out of this fic unscathed, but never you fear! I wouldn’t get rid of her completely &gt;:]</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>